Starbucks Workers United bringing union bus to Los Angeles

Starbucks workers and union organizers will rally in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 27 as the “Union is Calling” bus rolls into the city to muster support for unionizing more stores.

With help from Starbucks Workers United, they’re also looking to bring management to the table to negotiate a contract for stores that have already joined the union.

The LA stopover – at a unionized Starbucks at 3241 N. Figueroa St. – is part of a 13-city bus tour.

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More than 8,500 employees at more than 330 stores across the U.S. have joined Starbucks Workers United. Workers claim they’ve faced intimidation and coercion from the Seattle-based coffee chain as they pursue the right to work in a “safe, secure and respectful workplace.”

They’re seeking a “living wage,” guaranteed hours and consistent scheduling, as well as fairness in the workplace, including a grievance procedure and protection from unjust discipline.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, Starbucks said it is committed to constructive negotiations, but Workers United representatives have refused to discuss proposals or bargain without unilateral preconditions.

“Workers United should demonstrate the same commitment to bargaining as they do to rallies, and now a multi-city bus tour,” the company said.

Starbucks said it has proposed dates for nearly 30 first contract bargaining sessions for certified stores across California, but Workers United has failed to respond and has refused to initiate scheduling for any future bargaining sessions.

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Veronica Gonzalez, a barista at the Figueroa Street location, said local baristas earn a starting wage of $17. She’d like to see that bumped to $20 and probably higher to keep pace with Southern California’s high housing costs.

“I live at home with my parents,” the 27-year-old LA resident said. “I couldn’t afford to rent by myself unless I had a roommate.”

An uphill battle

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, a former California assemblymember now with the California Labor Federation, said Starbucks employees are fighting an uphill battle.

“In store after store, they’ve won a union and still Starbucks ignores the law and refuses to bargain,” Fletcher said in a statement. “It’s past time for Starbucks to do the right thing and negotiate with their unionized workforce.”

Fletcher said California’s labor movement will stand with the workers “for as long as it takes.”

Jaylee Moore, a barista and Starbucks Workers United organizer, said supporters would be on hand Thursday to put pressure on the company.

“We’re working hard to force Starbucks to respect workers’ rights to organize and bargain with us in good faith,” she said.

Starbucks bills itself as a progressive company that values its staff, employees say, but management has cut hours, closed stores and intimidated staff as part of its “scorched-earth union-busting campaign.”

Union officials say National Labor Relations Board judges have found Starbucks in violation of federal labor law more than 200 times and said the federal government is currently prosecuting the company in dozens more complaints.

Gonzalez said Starbucks’ busiest locations are often understaffed.

“It’s so busy you can’t step off to use the restroom or take breaks on time,” she said. “We are super burnt out.”

Walkouts, protests

Employees throughout the fast-food industry have staged walkouts and protests in recent months in an effort to secure higher wages and safer working conditions.

Last week, cooks and cashiers walked off the job at a McDonald’s in Los Angeles on Friday, July 20, claiming the restaurant’s broken air conditioning system was forcing them to work in sweltering conditions amid Southern California’s relentless heat wave.

And scores of Southern California fast-food workers on July 13 protested low wages, workplace violence, harassment and other unsafe conditions they say are plaguing the industry.

They are pushing for passage of Assembly Bill 257, which would create a 10-person, state-run council to negotiate wages, hours and working conditions for the more than half a million fast-food workers in California.

The bill will come before voters in the November 2024 election.